There are a large and increasing number of individuals in need of organ transplantation. Transplant candidates' waiting times have continued to grow around the world, imposing further morbidity and mortality for this population. Meanwhile, the discard rates of human organs have continued to increase in spite of the high mortality rate on the transplant waiting lists (18 patients/day) across the country.
Even when an appropriate transplant organ is obtained, failure rates of transplanted organs range from 5-25%. Furthermore, organ dysfunction (such as liver or kidney dysfunction) is becoming increasingly common in the general population. Thus there is a need to identify biomarkers for organ dysfunction, for both organs for transplantation and in individuals who have or are at risk for organ dysfunction.